Which encryption to use?

This is a discussion on Which encryption to use? within the A Brief History of Cprogramming.com forums, part of the Community Boards category; I just got a different router and it supports a bunch of different security measures. I've been reading up on ...

Which encryption to use?

I just got a different router and it supports a bunch of different security measures. I've been reading up on their pros/cons on wiki so I have a rough idea of the differences between the options. I just want something that provides some measure of safety but isn't too difficult to get working (or fix in the event that something resets when I'm not home, this is my parents house).

I did some reading about this myself some time ago, and came to the conclusion that for a home network, WPA2-PSK (AES) should suffice, unless you have some rather old network devices. You should choose a strong passphrase to share.

> And I want other people to be able to use my access point.
Ah yes, until the likes of RIAA come knocking for all the illegal music downloads traced to your IP address. But it'll be you who's facing the music, rather than listening to it.

> And I want other people to be able to use my access point.
Ah yes, until the likes of RIAA come knocking for all the illegal music downloads traced to your IP address. But it'll be you who's facing the music, rather than listening to it.

I'm not changing what I do just because of a roaming band of psychotics. If I take some huge fine because of an IP address showing up in a log somewhere (and nothing else, since I don't even listen to RIAA-made crap much less download it) then there will be another injustice in the world, I suppose.

Anyway, if you use any sort of encryption and therefore password on your wireless, you need to at least explain to your parents how to factory-reset the thing so that, if you go on extended hiatus and it borks itself, they can at least use their Internet until you get back.

I don't see how a network of unsecured access points is less secure than the open Internet. On the 'net, anybody can get to your IP address anyway (of course there are firewalls, but you can set those up on a home network as well while still leaving WiFi open). If open WiFi was a vector for the spread of a virus, it's no more so than the Internet as a whole. The security has to be at the host level, no matter what protocol you're using.

WiFi encryption is only useful for hiding the data you are transmitting, since anybody can sniff it. It's not a substitute for strong host security.

I did some reading about this myself some time ago, and came to the conclusion that for a home network, WPA2-PSK (AES) should suffice, unless you have some rather old network devices. You should choose a strong passphrase to share.

Okay cool, I'll probably go with that then. Thank you for the feedback.